


Her Plastic Ring, A Guilt Token

by Delcesca_Newby



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Apocalypse, Demons, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-04-16 14:24:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14166810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delcesca_Newby/pseuds/Delcesca_Newby
Summary: Jane's death still haunts Alec four years later as he tries to survive the apocalypse. When given a chance at redemption what will he do? Can he do for a stranger what he couldn't for Jane? All human. AU. Rated T for mild language. I do not own Twilight.





	1. Chapter One

"Alec, get your ass up,” a voice hissed and cut through the screaming ringing in my ears.

The all-too-familiar nightmare that plagued me every time I slept dissolved and my eyes popped open. My hand slid under my pillow to grab my gun as I was greeted with the sight of a boot hovering over my chest. 

I shoved the foot away, sat up, and placed my gun in the holster around my chest. “What do you want?” 

Rosalie’s scarred face twisted into its usual expression of bitchy annoyance. “Move.”

If it’d been four years earlier, I’d have told her to stuff it and get the hell away from me, but I didn’t have that luxury anymore. No human did. We had to take what we could get, even if all we were offered was someone with a lousy attitude and entitlement issues. At least she was a crack shot and knew how to set traps for game. 

I yawned and ran fingers through my disheveled, choppily cut hair. Esme had tried her best, but she was far from being a hair stylist—not that it mattered much to me. The uglier I looked, maybe the safer I would be. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be on patrol?” Irritation shadowed my words. 

“I’ve been up for hours and feel like I’m about to pass out. I want to sleep.” 

“It hasn’t been eight hours yet.” I wanted to kick myself. I’d been stupid to agree to take the patrol shift after her. 

Rosalie shrugged. “Close enough.”

“I hate you,” I muttered as I rose to my feet. I stretched until my back popped, then I slipped on my hole-riddled jacket. 

Rosalie hopped into the spot I’d left. She snuggled with the pillow and clamped her eyes shut. “Oh, poor baby.”

“Did you wake Edward up?” 

“He’s been up. Bella went into labor sometime in the middle of the night, and he’s been by her side like a good husband should be.”

No help there, I thought and frowned. Yay for another day of working by myself. 

I sighed. At least Edward had a legitimate reason. I couldn’t ask the guy to miss the birth of his child. I wasn’t a dick like some people.   
“How’s it out there?” 

“Nothing has changed in the shithole we’ve come to know and love.”

Rosalie made loud snoring noises. I glared at her and wondered if I could rid her of her horrible nature with a single look. I’d been trying for the past two years with no luck. Maybe it took something stronger, like fire. 

Gazing at her, I guessed someone had already tried that by the state of her face. At one point in time, she’d probably been a gorgeous girl. She had the body of a goddess and the brightest blue eyes I’d ever seen that complimented her high cheekbones. Despite the lack of hygiene we all suffered from, her golden blond hair was long and thick and had never been touched by Esme’s clumsy, well-meaning hand.

The twisted map of damaged, bumpy skin that started at her neck and stopped just above her eyebrows distracted from her appealing qualities. The strange black-red color of the scars looked otherworldly, and I suspected they’d been delivered by non-human hands. Rosalie presented a sad sight that made her demeanor that much harder to deal with.

I left the living room of the house my group, and I’d claimed as our own a week and a half ago. My shoes left imprints on the mountain of dirt that remained even after Esme’s attempts at cleaning the carpet. Dust swirled up into my nose and mouth, and I sneezed and gagged simultaneously. I hurried into the kitchen as I struggled to breathe. 

“Here,” Alice said as soon as I entered. She held out an opened bottle of water.

I took it and sipped, and in minutes got myself under control. “Thank you,” I muttered when I could finally talk. 

Alice waved a wrapper in my face. “Want the other half of my breakfast bar?” 

I shook my head and downed more water. 

“She’s really loud.” 

Alice spoke while nibbling on the food I had declined. She ate like a starving, nervous bird, complete with the shifting gaze and hunched back. 

“Who?” 

Alice’s sapphire blue eyes shifted to the ceiling. “Bella.”

“Well, she is trying to push a potato through a straw. I’m assuming that’s quite a feat.” 

“If it takes much longer, Bella won’t see the sunset,” Alice said with such conviction I had to wonder—and not for the first time—if she could see into the future. It freaked me out the things she blurted, especially when her eyes glazed over, and she shook as she uttered her words. 

Thankfully, she wasn’t doing that now. I never handled her ‘episodes’ well. 

Suddenly the loudest scream of pain I’d ever heard shook the walls of the house. A cheer followed that, and the tense look Alice wore fell off her pinched, pixie-like face. I could almost see a weight physically lift from her shoulders.

“Do you think Bella will let me hold the little girl?”

“It’s a girl?” Esme hadn’t mentioned that, though maybe she hadn’t thought I’d care about the gender of Bella’s baby. 

“Yes, it’s a girl.”

“Good for Bella.” 

“Will I be able to hold her?” Alice repeated, her tone almost angry. 

I shrugged. “Maybe.” 

I lied. I knew full well Bella would never let Alice around her baby. There was something seriously wrong with Alice. I didn’t know her life story, had never asked. It wasn’t my place to make her relive whatever horrible things were in her past, the awful things that made it so she only slept for a couple hours every few days. But those things had made the girl (she couldn’t be older than fifteen) unstable, and if I were Bella I would be afraid of Alice dropping the baby or leaving it somewhere and forgetting the location.

“Baby girls are so sweet…so special.” Alice’s gaze had turned soft. A smile turned up her chapped, blood-caked lips (Esme and I had tried everything to make her stop constantly biting them) and a sigh left her. 

I gazed, surprised to see her so happy. What did she remember? 

“Yeah.” I coughed. “Well, I’m going to go on patrol. You…find something…you know.” 

“You’re never careful out there.” Alice’s crumbled back into the one I’d come accustomed to seeing on her face for the past year. “You don’t do things to jeopardize us, but you aren’t careful.” 

“I’m careful enough.” 

Alice closed the short distance between us and reached out. For a fleeting moment, I thought she was going to hit me (though she was incapable of swatting a fly), but instead, she grabbed the chain around my neck and tugged the tiny pink plastic ring I always wore out from underneath my shirt. She fingered the ring, and tears welled up in her eyes.   
“You won’t solve anything by being reckless.” 

My heart thudded as I tore the ring out of her grasp and returned it to its spot. “I’m not trying to solve anything.”

“Alec, antagonizing them won’t—" 

“I’m leaving,” I announced, and not-so-gently moved her out of my way. “Tell the others when they finally come down or whatever that I’m going to bring home food. I don’t know what it will be, but we’re running low.” 

I started for the back door. 

“Wait, Alec. I’m coming with.”

I stopped mid-step and whipped around to face her. “Excuse me? No, you’re not.”

“I have to come with you today.” 

“Why?” 

Alice shrugged. “I just have to. You need me with you.” 

“You can’t even shoot a gun!” 

“Please, Alec. Trust me, you need me.” 

I opened my mouth to disagree, but something kept me from saying anything. What if this was one of those times she was right? What would I do if, by some miracle, there came a time when I was out that Alice would come in handy? Did I really want to risk whatever bad things could happen if she wasn’t around? 

And, besides, even if nothing out of the ordinary happened, she could help carry whatever supplies I found. 

I relented. “I’m in charge. Whatever I say goes, and you will stay beside me at all times. Do you understand?”

Alice nodded. 

I’m going to regret this, I thought.

I opened the back door and gestured to the outside. “Come on.”

Alice scrambled past me. “You won’t regret it.”

I stared at her a minute. This probably was a terrible idea. I should make her stay. It would be better—

“Are we going, Alec?” 

I sighed as I repositioned my gun. “Yeah.”

I followed her.


	2. Chapter Two

The early morning sky was just starting to turn a baby blue as Alice and I cut through the backyard, crawled under the fence, and strolled into the adjoining lawn. I stepped lightly, alert as I searched for resting snakes. Alice walked like a drunken buffalo and had her head turned up to gaze at the thin clouds. Twice I had to steer her away from tree branches before she tripped over them. 

“Pay attention,” I finally growled as we reached the back street. “I’m not going to keep you out of all the potholes, and I sure the hell won’t carry you back to the house if you sprain your ankle.” 

Alice sighed. “Okay.” She seemed disappointed as she forced herself to stay focused on what was in front of her. 

A soft breeze ruffled our hair, and I stopped a moment to sniff. Good. I smelt nothing odd; there were no traces of other people. That didn’t mean they weren’t here, though. The town we were in was relatively small, but there were many places for a group or two like mine to hide out in. Yes, Edward and I had searched every inch of the town and had found nothing, but that had been five days ago. Who knew how things had changed since our last sweep?

I shuddered at the thought of running into another group of people, of another scenario like Waterchall. With Alice and the new baby, there was no way we would come out of a fight with other people the victors. We barely lived through the last confrontation when it was just five of us. 

My head swiveled back and forth as I kept my eyes peeled for any signs of not only humans but the demons that had made the earth what it was today. The number of them had substantially dispersed since they first crawled out of Hell that late November night, the day after Thanksgiving (it seemed horribly cliched that the end of the world had happened on Black Friday). I don’t know where all the demons had gone to, not that I complained.

I could be anxious about the ones that remained, but in four years I’d discovered many ways to kill them. It wasn’t as hard as it at first had seemed. 

Shame you didn’t know that when—

I cut off my internal voice. I didn’t want to go there. Not today. Couldn’t I go one day without thinking about her?

It was a beautiful late summer day. The morning was brisk and crisp, but the temperature was steadily rising. The trees we passed were just starting to turn a rainbow of colors, the barest hint of fall. Jane would have loved to see the leaves, would have loved to dance around in this weather; her favorite time of the year.

And she would be doing that right now if you hadn’t messed up, my internal voice snipped before I had a chance to quiet it again. It’s your fault she’s in that unmarked grave. You failed her. You promised you would protect her and less than forty-eight hours after you made that vow she died. 

I tried, I answered with my pathetic rebuttal. My hand touched the bump where the plastic ring was—Jane’s cheap, plastic ring; the cursed token that reminded me of my little sister. 

Uh-huh, my inner voice responded. 

I sighed. I couldn’t lie to myself. Yes, I’d only been fourteen when the biggest mistake of my life had happened. And, yes, I had been as scared and confused as the rest of humanity, but I should have known better than to leave Jane by herself, even though I’d only been gone for a few minutes. Even though I had left to find her stupid pink ring, something she just hadn’t been able to move forward without. I had seen what the demons were capable of when they’d slaughtered my father in front of me, and I shouldn’t have been so naïve to think they wouldn’t find us in the woods; that they would overlook a ten-year-old girl. 

My eyes clouded with tears as the last image I had of my sister flashed through my mind. She’d been in so much pain as she had screamed my name, and I’d just stood there watching the two horrible monsters torture her as she fought for her life. Oh, had she fought, kicking and scratching with everything she had. 

Jane had been so brave until one of the demons had snapped her neck.

And then their fun had abruptly ended, and I’d had to hide until they scrambled off. With numb fingers and bleeding nails, I’d dug Jane a shallow grave, kissed her cold forehead, then had prayed for God to take her soul and cherish her as I’d lowered her corpse into the grave and covered her. 

“Alec,” Alice whispered. She touched my arm and brought me back to the present. To the horribly lonely, guilt-filled present. 

I wiped at my face. “What?” I willed my emotions to go back into the locked box around my heart and met her worried stare as expressionless as possible. 

“There is forgiveness in accepting your past.” Alice sounded wiser beyond her years. 

“We’re taking too much time.”

I picked up my pace, left the back street, turned onto the town’s main one, and walked down the middle of the eroded road. Alice chased after me. She wheezed as she tried to catch up. 

I took pity on her and slowed my steps.

“I upset you. I didn’t mean to.” Alice coughed. “I thought I was helping. You looked like you were in so much pain. I only wanted to make it stop.”

“I’m fine.” I spotted a small grocery store we hadn’t raided yet. “Over here.” I pointed at it as I dodged a rusted car parked in front of the building. The owner probably had gone in to get eggs and milk and had instead got torn to shreds by a demon. 

I stopped a few feet away from the building and pulled a small jar of vapor rub out of my pocket. I opened it and picked up a glob with my finger. I turned to Alice. 

She eyed the yellow goo. “What is that?”

“It’s vapor rub. I’m going to put it under your nose.” 

“Why?” 

“There are things in the store that have been allowed to fester for years. It’s not going to smell pretty in there. The vapor rub will tone down the stench.” 

“Oh.” Alice allowed me to smear it above her lip. 

I put some under my nostrils, capped the jar, and placed it back in my pocket. I started for the store’s broken door. Even before I reached the threshold, a wave of rotting revulsion crashed into my nose, and I gagged. Alice stepped up beside me, her breath caught, and the next moment she doubled over and lost her breakfast. 

“I’m okay,” she whispered when she was done. She straightened up and wiped at her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt. 

“It helps to mostly hold your breath and breathe through your mouth when you need to,” I said, and did as I instructed as I entered the dark store. 

It wasn’t nearly as destroyed as most the other places I’d gone into for food, but it still looked bad. Some shelves had been knocked over. Boxes of cereal and crackers had been opened, their contents spilled all over the floor; molded and dust covered. The two cash registers were opened and broken on the floor. Glass that I couldn’t find the origin scattered the ground like confetti. 

I grabbed two baskets, gave one to Alice, and then worked my way through the messy maze before me. I ignored the many rats and bugs scurrying around as I picked through the unopened packages down one of the aisles. I only found two sleeves of cookies and a box of fruit drinks that I placed in Alice’s basket. I moved down the shelves with a prayer I’d find more. My measly discoveries would hardly be worth it if that’s all I brought back to the house. 

“Can we…take…this?” Alice held up a can of corn. 

I nodded and continued my search. 

Over the next twenty minutes, we came up with three more boxes of cookies, a few energy bars, a container of military-grade powdered milk, and four cans of fruit cocktail. I sighed at our haul. It wasn’t terrible, but someone would have to go out tomorrow for more.

We couldn’t keep doing this. Sooner than later, we needed to set up permanent residence somewhere. Maybe on a tiny farm, one with a garden. It wouldn’t be that hard. Not with six capable hands. 

“Let’s try someplace el—" 

Alice’s head jerked, and she looked out the dirty storefront window. “Do you hear that?”

“What?” 

“She needs us!” Alice dropped her basket. It fell to the floor with a loud thud, but Alice didn’t pay it any mind as she raced for the exit. 

I took off after her; left my own basket of food behind. “Who?” 

“Your redemp—" 

The rest of what she said was lost as she left the store and took off down the street. 

“Get back here!” 

Her tiny form kept running away from me. I groaned and removed my gun from its holster.


	3. Chapter Three

Alice darted toward the edge of town with more energy than I’d seen her display in the year she’d been with our group. I only kept up with her due to my longer legs and better health. I wouldn’t doubt, at her peak, Alice could move like the wind. 

As we moved through the streets, I heard what had caught Alice’s attention. Cries of mercy, of help, carried in the otherwise silent morning. My hearing was the second best out of our group, and I didn’t notice the cries until I approached them. How had Alice picked them up while inside the store? What else did she keep from us? 

My questions died when we reached the outskirts of town. There, a sight I’d never seen before, met me. A girl no older than eleven stood in front of either an unconscious or dead adult and warded off three demons the size of small computer desks with a staff headed with a sharp, curved blade. She wielded her weapon with ease, and more than once nicked the demons, but she had a slim chance of killing them with it. 

All three demons stood on three legs and swiped at the girl every so often with their paw-like hands. The middle one had black-feathered wings that rustled when it threw its head back and cackled like an agitated hyena. The other two gnashed their teeth that resembled broken rocks, and the right one’s four bulging eyes glowed purple whenever the girl cut it. 

The demons weren’t the ugliest, nor the strongest I’d ever encountered. I considered these ones the animals of the demon-world: they acted more on instinct, and I’d never witnessed them communicate in anything resembling words, just guttural noises and body language. Of the demons I’d seen in the past few months, these simple, almost stupid ones made up most of them. 

I could kill these little bastards in my sleep. In fact, I spent an unhealthy amount of time when on patrol searching for them. I toyed with them much like they did the girl, but never as cruelly as those demons who’d killed Jane had with my sister. Trust me, I wanted to, yet I always relented before I went too far. 

The demons moved closer to the girl, and I decided to end their fun. I raised my gun, aimed at the middle demon’s head, but before I pulled the trigger, Alice dived for the left demon. She wrapped her arms around its thick, sore-covered neck, and pulled. The creature squealed as she managed to drag it to the ground with her as she fell. 

The middle one turned toward its friend while the third one lunged at the girl. In quick session, I shot the winged demon in its blunt, bald skull and through the center of its chest where its heart sat—the easiest way to eliminate their kind (but both brain and heart had to be destroyed, or else the creatures could regenerate). The demon collapsed in a gory mess of destroyed flesh and chunky light pink blood. 

I ran for Alice, and out of the corner of my eye, I witnessed the girl stab the third demon high in the torso, then through its jaw. It shouldn’t have been possible, not with her slight frame, but she used so much force the blade protruded out of the top of the demon’s skull. I didn’t have time to marvel this feat before I neared Alice and the last demon. 

Without skill, Alice fought. She jabbed, kicked, and clawed the monster on top of her. The demon tried to ram its fingers into her eyes or tear at her throat with its teeth, but Alice moved too much for it to do more than grapple with her. Her vigor wouldn’t last for much longer, though, and with less fanfare than usual, I killed the beast. 

“Oh, gross!” Alice cried when demon gore splattered her face. She shoved the carcass away from her, sat up, and glared at me. “I’ll smell like this for days.” 

“At least you’re not dead.” 

Alice’s stare lost its heat. “No, true. Not like—” She looked over her shoulder at the girl crouched by the unmoving adult I could now clearly see was a woman in her late forties who shared the girl’s auburn, corkscrew curls, and dark tawny skin. 

The girl surprised me once again. While clear she mourned her loss, she didn’t wail or overreact like many her age would. The girl just cried her silent tears and mumbled what sounded like a prayer as she patted the dead woman’s head. 

Alice stood and approached the girl. “Your mom’s in Heaven, you know.” 

“Alice!” In a flash, I stood beside her and yanked on her hand to stop her from throwing her arms around the girl like I could tell she wanted to. “Leave her alone.” 

“No, she’s right. My mom’s taken her place amongst the angels,” the girl said, and the age of her voice stunned me. She had a high, girlish tone like one would expect, but her words reverberated with wisdom only gained from a lifetime. 

I couldn’t pinpoint why but hearing the girl talk made the hair on my arms stand on end. 

“Yes, well, it’s not exactly polite to say it...” I cleared my throat and nodded at the girl’s mother and the demons. “What happened?” It seemed apparent, but I hoped that, if the girl and her mother were part of another group in town, she’d reveal so, and maybe I could glean what sort of people they were. 

The girl met my gaze with level, chestnut brown eyes. Tears still glistened in them, but they no longer crawled down her round cheeks. “We were traveling from Seattle to Awfor and got attacked by two demons—larger ones. My mom got wounded, but we managed to shake them, and continued moving.” The girl glanced at the dead demons. “Then these ones jumped us, and my mom couldn’t—They, uh...” 

Alice touched the girl’s shoulder. “We’re sorry. She was a good woman.” 

I suppressed a groan and tightened my hold on Alice’s wrist. She needed to stop speaking. Why would she want to upset the girl further? 

The girl stood. “Yeah.” She spared her mother one last glance, then stepped away from her corpse. She picked up her staff that she’d discarded when she’d knelt beside her mother and returned it to the harness on her back. “Thank you both. I need to get to moving.” 

“Alone?” Alice asked. 

“Yep.” 

Alice shook her head. “No, you won’t make it on your own.” 

The girl shrugged. “I don’t have another choice, and I have to get to Awfor.” 

Alice turned to me. “We need to escort her.”

“No, we need to get our supplies and return to the others.” 

Alice searched my face. “You won’t help?” She jerked out of my grasp and ran to the girl. “Then I’ll do it.” 

I snorted. “How do you plan to protect her?”

Alice straightened her spine and scowled. “I’ll make do.” 

“You’ll both die in the process.” 

“I have to try.” 

I looked at Alice and the girl. I couldn’t change either of their minds and deep in my gut, I knew if they went off alone they wouldn’t make it through the night. I could try to drag them back to the others, but the girl had serious skill with her staff and would fight me off.

Bringing her to the others didn’t seem like a wise idea, either. She could be anyone, have several enemies on her trail. I would never forgive myself if I got the others hurt, especially Bella’s baby. 

I rubbed my face and sighed. Great. 

“How far is Awfor?” I asked the girl. 

“About ten miles.” 

“Were you and your mom going on foot?” 

“No, we had bikes, but—” She gestured to the dead demons. “They ate them.” 

“Now what?” 

The girl glanced at Alice. “I guess we, um...”

I frowned. “Get yourselves killed.”

“No, we’ll do—” 

I cut Alice off with a snap of my fingers. “You need me, so...I’ll get you to Awfor.” 

Alice’s expression brightened, but the girl quirked an eyebrow. 

“Sure it won’t be too much trouble?” she demanded. 

I flashed a humorless smile. “Oh, it’s going to be trouble.” I spun on my heel and headed back toward town. 

“Wait, why are you going there?” Alice asked. 

With a second glance at the pair, I said, “We won’t get far without more supplies.”


	4. Chapter Four

I hated doing it, but we took most of the supplies Alice and I had found in the store; anything light. The girl, who introduced herself as Sierra, had enough water in the backpacks she and her mother had dropped a good quarter of a mile from where Alice and I had first encountered them to see her and Alice through the trip. As much as I’d have liked it, the fruit drinks wouldn’t do me any good, so we broke into houses in search of more bottled water. 

At the third house, after she cleaned away the demon gore, Alice asked if we should tell our group what we planned to do. I wanted to, but I still didn’t trust Sierra, and couldn’t bring myself to jeopardize the others. I shook my head. 

“The others will worry,” Alice said. 

They would, but they wouldn’t look for us, at least not until tomorrow. It didn’t happen often, but there’d been times when one or more of our members (me included) had had to stay away for the night. None of us liked it, yet that was the nature of the world we now lived in. 

“Of course, they will,” I replied as I checked the cupboard under the sink. 

“They need to know.” 

I sighed and glanced at Alice. “Would you feel better if we left a note in the store? That’ll be the first place they check.” 

Alice smiled. “A perfect idea. I’ll write it!” 

I turned so she wouldn’t see me roll my eyes. “Yeah, you do that, and we’ll put it in the store before we leave.” 

Alice ran from the kitchen. “Sierra! Help me look for paper and a working pen.” 

I chuckled and continued my hunt. 

By the time afternoon set in, we had the supplies we needed for our journey. I wanted to place the note, but Alice refused to let me see it, let alone touch it. When she came out of the store, she promised she’d put it where Esme would find it. 

“How do you know who’s going to find it?” I couldn’t stop myself from blurting. 

Sierra gazed at me, her expression perplexed. “You don’t know?” 

Alice giggled and patted my hand. “He wouldn’t believe me if I told him,” she told Sierra. Her eyes narrowed. “No one has but—” She shook her head and flashed both Sierra and me a grin. “Can we go now?” 

Sierra and I shared a look. I shrugged. The girl’s guess was as good as mine. 

“Sure,” I said to Alice.

Without further comments, we walked away from the main part of town. We wouldn’t get far before nightfall, but I wanted us to at least reach the houses a good mile or so away from town. I’d visited one days ago that would be perfect for us to camp at for the night. 

We didn’t talk as we traveled. I’d expected Alice would want to, but she remained as quiet as she was after her nightmares woke her from a sound sleep. Yet she seemed happy instead of terrified. In fact, I’d never seen her this jovial. More than once, I heard her humming. 

The journey offered us many sights of wildlife, but no demons. That didn’t surprise me. The demons seemed to prefer cities and larger towns over the woods, which Forks mostly consisted of. The smarter, more human-like of the demons only went into forests when they pursued people. I’d never seen one go for a hike just for fun, unlike the animal-like demons. 

As the sun sat low in the sky and shadows covered most of the ground, we reached our destination. The dingy yellow, single-story, ranch-style house had had better days, but the roof had no holes, and all the windows were still intact. Even the fireplace worked like a dream. 

Sierra surveyed the house. “Why are we here?” 

I picked the lock on the front door. “This is home for the night.” 

“Can’t we travel longer? We barely got anywhere.” 

A satisfying click came, and I pushed open the door. “We’ve covered a little over two miles. We get an early start in the morning, and you’ll be in Awfor before this time tomorrow.”

“But—” 

Alice pushed past us. “I don’t like the dark.” 

Sierra watched as Alice flitted around the living room and collected dusty pillows from the couch. “I don’t think this is a good idea,” she said just loud enough for me to hear.

“Want to risk going on your own?” 

Sierra’s lips pursed. “We both know I wouldn’t get far.” 

I stepped into the house. “Then suck it up and be grateful we don’t have to camp outside.” 

Sierra sighed but didn’t argue further. She shuffled after me, and I shut the door. 

Alice begged me to let her light the fireplace. She wasn’t a firebug, but she loved the element more than anyone I’d ever known. Alice didn’t treat flame like a toy, which gladdened me, but I wouldn’t let her near the matches. She spaced out too much for me to trust her. 

Dejected, she took Sierra through the rest of the house to search for blankets. Now that she knew we were relatively safe, she chatted a mile a minute. Even if Sierra wanted to, she couldn’t get a word in. 

I smirked as I took care of the fire. Why Alice talking Sierra’s ear off brought me so much joy, I couldn’t say. Maybe it was just nice to have Alice focus on someone else for a change. I considered myself a strong man, but her cryptic sayings were too much to handle day in and day out. 

By the time the duo returned with enough blankets to make a dozen people happy, I’d coaxed the fire to a decent size. It didn’t give off much heat yet, but in a few hours, the living room would feel like inside of a toaster. I helped the girls make three blanket nests, then we ate a hearty dinner of crackers, fruit snacks, and the venison jerky Sierra had on her. 

I didn’t talk much, just listened to Alice fire question after question at Sierra. I had to give the girl credit, she held her own quite nicely. I think it helped, though, that Alice didn’t ask anything too personal (it appeared she’d gotten that out of her system after the demon attack).

As time went on, I could tell Sierra was growing a soft spot for Alice. I couldn’t fault the girl. Yes, Alice may irritate me and freak me out sometimes, but I liked her well enough. She had a sweet quality untouched by the harshness of our situation and whatever horrors hid in her past. 

No concrete opinion of Sierra existed yet. From what she told us, she and her mother had lucked out when the end of the world had happened. They’d already lived in a tightknit, walled community that hadn’t had much trouble fending off demons and unsavory humans. With a few adjustments, the community had been able to become self-sufficient. 

“Why would you leave that?” I asked. 

Sierra picked threads off the blanket that covered her legs and tossed them into the fire. “My mom’s friends wanted to see her and me.” 

I almost made the comment, “How could catching up with buddies be worth death?”, but kept my mouth shut. The girl had just lost her mother. No matter how stupid I thought their decision, I couldn’t spit on her tragedy. 

I stood and wiped the crumbs off my clothes. “I’m going on patrol.” I pointed to the two girls. “Get some sleep.” 

Sierra nodded. 

Alice dived under her blankets. “Don’t take long. Remember, Alec, you need sleep, too.” 

I mumbled agreement and left the house. 

For two hours, I wandered the woods; the house always within earshot. Nothing jumped out at me, so I assumed we’d be okay for the night. Plus, if anything did try to break in, I’d wake in an instant. 

I returned to the house and crept back inside; made no noise. The fire had roared to life, though it’d need more wood before I dozed off. Alice snored on her makeshift bed. I expected to see Sierra passed out, but she sat in front of the fireplace. At first, I couldn’t hear her over the crackling flames, but then my ears adjusted, and I could make out her muttering to herself. 

What possessed me to creep toward her, I don’t know, but I just knew I couldn’t address my presence, not yet. I moved with practiced skill and soon hovered behind the girl. I glanced over her shoulder. 

Sierra had her left pantleg rolled up to expose a nasty gash running the length of her lower leg, from under her knee to her ankle. She must have gotten it when she and her mother had been first attacked by demons. I gulped and wished Sierra had told us about it hours ago. She may have waited too long, and I couldn’t be sure if we could stop the infection that had no doubt set in from claiming her leg. 

I opened my mouth to comment but stopped as I watched her place her hand on the wound. Sierra’s mumbling increased in tempo and intensity. A pulsing, low light came from her palm, and where it touched on her wound, it healed. 

In one fluid motion, I removed my gun from its holster and pressed the opening of the barrel against the back of Sierra’s skull. She gasped but didn’t move. 

“What the hell are you?”


	5. Chapter 5

“Please don’t shoot me. I can—” 

“Alec, stop!” Alice cried as she appeared beside me. She tugged on my arm but couldn’t get me to drop my gun. 

I didn’t tear my focus from Sierra as I said to Alice, “You didn’t see what she did. She’s not human. And if she’s not human, that means she’s some sort of demon.” 

“No, that’s not what she is at all. She’s our light, Alec.” 

I shrugged her off. I didn’t need Alice’s nonsense right now. If I could, I had to make Sierra tell me all about her type of demon, then kill her, and get Alice back to Forks, where we’d meet up with our group before fleeing. 

Is there any point? What could we do if demons could now masquerade as human? 

It might seem hopeless, but I couldn’t give up. I’d come too far to just throw in the towel when life got more difficult. I wouldn’t let the demons win. 

“Alice, go in another room. You don’t need to see what I have to do next.” 

“I won’t let you!” 

“It has to be—” 

Alice threw her arms around Sierra and positioned herself, so her cheek pressed against my gun. “You can’t hurt her. She’s good. We need her.” 

“Move.”

“No!” 

“I know you think—”

“Let me explain myself,” Sierra said, her voice now void of fear. “This will all make sense if you just give me a couple of minutes.” 

Tears streamed from Alice’s eyes. “Please, Alec.”

Against better judgment, I took a handful of steps back. I kept my gun trained on Sierra. “Talk.” 

Sierra attempted to untangle herself from Alice, but Alice stuck to her side like a wad of gum. Sierra sighed and turned to face me. She stayed sitting. 

“I’m not a demon. Demons can’t heal, and that’s what you caught me doing.”

“Yeah, only good people heal,” Alice said through her tears. 

“So, what are you, the exact opposite? An angel?” 

Sierra shook her head. “No.” 

“Well?” 

Sierra swallowed hard. “Uh...unlike other people, I don’t have a father. My mom just, ah, was found worthy, and then was pregnant with me.” 

I snorted. “Like the Immaculate Conception?” 

Sierra just looked at me. 

I laughed harder. No way. I could believe the gates of Hell had opened to vomit demons into my world, but to think the second coming of Jesus stood before me was asking too much. 

Why? my inner voice demanded. What makes it easier to accept one and not the other? 

My parents had raised Jane and me Christian, though nothing serious. We’d gone to church only on the important holidays, and more days than not we didn’t pray before dinner. God was in our life yet didn’t consume every facet of it. 

At every opportunity, though, my mother had always stressed the end of days, despite my father’s adamant objections. I could never figure out why it mattered so much to her, and I’d always been too frightened to ask. 

Due to my mother’s obsession, I knew the supposed signs of God’s plan to end everything. Yes, the demons had been one but without the others, I’d just written the apocalypse off as a fluke in God’s design. It wasn’t the most comforting thought, but it’d kept my sanity in check. 

Now...

No, I wouldn’t let Sierra convince me. 

“You’re crazy,” I told the girl. 

Alice brushed away her tears. She gazed at me with a levelheadedness I’d never seen her master. “Your way means Jane and everyone died for nothing.” 

The hand holding my gun shook. “What you two are implying means she meant nothing. All the bullshit over the years has just been a sick game.”

Sierra shook her head. “You don't see the bigger picture.” 

“What bigger picture? That God did this, or at least let it happen? That He could end this misery if He wanted to? What part am I supposed to like?” 

“But it had to be this way,” Alice said. 

“I don’t care!”

Sierra frowned and went to stand. Alice allowed her, and the girl approached me. She stopped short of my still-pointed gun. “I’m sorry, I truly am. I know you’re angry and hurt. A lot of people are. I wish none of this had had to happen.” 

My finger played with the gun’s trigger. I don’t know if I intended to shoot her, but she seemed to think so because she moved out of the line of fire. Sierra’s eyes never left my face.

Despite my initial objections, I did believe the girl (how could I not?). Fury, like I hadn’t felt since Jane’s death, boiled my blood, and it took every ounce of self-control to keep from harming Sierra. Oh, I would have hated myself, but since I couldn’t strangle God, she was the best substitution.

“A mistake you’re blameless for almost destroyed you. Killing our light will drive you to the point of no return,” Alice said. She’d moved to stand beside Sierra. “Don’t do it, Alec. Please.” She looked at Sierra. “We can’t get you to safety without him, you know.” 

Sierra nodded, her gaze still on me. “My life, and thus millions of other people’s, rest on what you decide.”

I barked out a hollow, bitter sound. “God can just make a new one of you.”

Sierra shook her head. “Even God follows a preset plan, even if we can’t understand it. I am all humans have, and I must get to my people in Awfor. They need to train me.” 

Her words pissed me off more, but for a different reason. Why had I been put in this situation? How could I be the best person to take Sierra to Awfor (I could barely keep from shooting her)? If God wanted to give humans a fair chance against the demons, He wouldn’t leave our savior in my hands. 

Alice touched my free hand. “Though you’ve never needed it, and you won’t admit it, you’ve asked so long for redemption. God’s answered your prayers.” 

“What does it matter? It won’t bring Jane back.” 

“Your soul needs peace.” 

I weighed Alice’s words. I didn’t think helping Sierra would do all Alice said, but I couldn’t screw over the entire world just because I was pissed the new Jesus had been put in my path. My selfishness didn’t extend that far. 

I holstered my gun and turned to my makeshift bed. “We’re heading out bright and early. I suggest you sleep.” 

“Alec—” 

I dived under my blanket, covered my head with it, and took a page out of Rosalie’s book. I snored until I heard the girls get comfortable in their own spots. Then, despite all my swirling emotions, I fell asleep.


	6. Chapter Six

I didn’t feel any better when Alice woke me up a few hours later. I’d dreamt of Jane’s murder, but this time, instead of screaming in terror and pain, my sister had berated me as the demons tortured her. I couldn’t remember her taunts, yet they left me more chilled than usual. 

Alice poked my shoulder; my eyelids had stayed shut. “Do you need a few minutes? We don’t have to leave—” 

My eyes opened, and I rubbed my face. “No, I’m moving.” 

“Okay.” 

Her quiet, slow tone caught my attention. 

“What’s wrong?” I asked. 

Alice glanced at Sierra, who examined our food supplies and rationed out our breakfast. She must have been up longer than either me or Alice. She’d washed her face and hair the best she could and had changed out of yesterday’s clothes. Parts of her old clothes could be seen burning in the fireplace. 

Alice’s gaze returned to me. “You will do it?” She spoke in a whisper, but I did notice Sierra stiffen, though not stop in her task. 

I sat up and shrugged off my blanket. “I didn’t shoot her, did I?” I kept my voice just as low as Alice’s despite not caring if the girl overheard me or not. I did it for Alice. She looked more on edge than I felt. 

“No, but—” 

“Alice, I’ll go through with the plan. I don’t like it, and I’m—It’s best we get it over as soon as possible.” 

Alice’s lips (which now sported a much-needed layer of lip balm thanks to Sierra) crafted the weakest smile. “You’re a good man, you know that?” 

I grunted as I jumped to my feet. I stretched, and my entire body complained about the night’s sleeping accommodations. I chose to focus on my various aches and not the anger that still simmered below the surface. What more could I say, and what would it matter? 

Sierra handed me and Alice our food, and we woofed it down. I instructed the girls to make the house look as undisturbed as when we’d first arrived, then went outside to do a quick patrol. Like last night, the forest held no threats, and an hour after I’d woken up, we continued our journey to Awfor. 

Unlike the previous day, Alice seemed distracted. She’d jump at odd sounds, and more than once tripped over her own feet because she’d been glancing over her shoulder. Both Sierra and I asked what bothered her so, but she’d only mumble, “I don’t know,” and go right back to what she’d been doing. Over the course of the morning, mine and Sierra’s inquiries lessened until we stopped altogether. 

For the first few hours, I ignored Sierra. The petty, childish act didn’t help improve my mood, and what did I think I was doing? Was being an ass to the world’s only hope worth the effort? It wasn’t like I could get back at God by treating his miracle child like dirt. 

“So, does it bother you knowing you were created as a tool?” I asked during the break we took at mid-morning. 

Sierra chased the crackers she’d eaten with a swig of water, threw a glance at Alice (she stood off the side, rocking on her heels and chewing on her fingernails), then nodded. “I guess I’m not supposed to say it sucks, but it does.” 

“Do you even know all your meant to do?” 

Sierra shrugged. “Save the world? That’s all my mom was ever told. I figure I’ll find out in Awfor.”

“If you don’t?” 

“Maybe I’ll discover it when I’m older.”

I shook my head. “This sounds like a pretty shitty plan.”

“Yeah, but I can’t give up. I couldn’t live with myself if I ran from my purpose.” 

Her bravery stunned me. At her age, taking responsibility for knocking my neighbor’s birdhouse in their pool thanks to a stray frisbee had been an enormous undertaking. But here she was, an orphan with the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she didn’t bat an eye. 

“How do you handle it?” 

“I just have to. There’s no backup.”

I wanted to argue a case for her free will, but we didn’t have the time. We ensured Alice drank and ate something before starting back on our path. Now, though, I made a comment every so often about nothing important to Sierra (I tried with Alice, too, but she was trapped in her own little world). She responded, and the rest of the morning passed with the both of us in better moods.

While it might not seem the smartest decision, we traveled the main road between Forks and Awfor. The risk factor was higher, but we moved faster than if we’d cut a path through the woods. I kept my gun out, and Sierra had her staff, so I didn’t worry too much. Even Alice carried a weapon on her person. I hadn’t asked her to, but before we’d left the house, she’d taken a pair of sewing scissors. I’d laughed and asked her what she planned on doing with them, but she hadn’t acknowledged my comment, and I’d thought it better to leave the subject be. 

A bit past noon, we came across a road sign that indicated we were only four miles from Awfor. Sierra cheered and hugged the sign. I chuckled and glanced at Alice. I half expected her to burst out with joy like Sierra. Instead, her eyes widened, and she dived for Sierra. She tackled the girl to the ground, and Sierra’s staff went flying. The sign stood on a small hill, and the two rolled down into the deep ditch below. 

I chased after them. “Alice, what’s gotten into you?” 

Sierra pushed on Alice but couldn’t make the older girl release her. “Please, you’re hurting me.” 

“Quiet!”

I tugged on Alice. “Come on!” 

Alice gazed at me. A wildfire danced in her eyes and the paleness of her skin made my stomach flip. “Danger, Alec. We must stay here.”

I stopped pulling on Alice and threw Sierra a look telling her to cease her actions as well. Then I focused on Alice. “What have you sensed?” 

I’d been enjoying my conversations with Sierra but had been paying attention to my surroundings. I hadn’t noticed anything. Yet I would never forget how Alice had picked up Sierra’s cries for help yesterday. Maybe she had super hearing. It wouldn’t be the strangest thing I’d discovered. 

“I think—” 

Something stabbed me in the neck. I flinched and reached for the spot. My fingers met a dart. I made to remove it when a colossal wave of dizziness crashed into me. I stumbled, then collapsed next to the girls. My vision tunneled the next second. I heard Sierra call my name and Alice sob before unconsciousness overtook me.


	7. Chapter Seven

Loud, incoherent babbling broke through the thick fog wrapped around my mind. I groaned and went to rub the sleep from my face, but I couldn’t. My hands were tied behind my back. My eyes popped open, and for a long minute, my brain refused to register my surroundings. When they did, I was more confused than ever. 

I’d come to in a large tent, one that would have cost a small fortune if money still mattered, illuminated by multiple ornate oil lamps. The inside looked like a combination of a bedroom and home office, both sections clearly defined and posher than anything I’d seen in many years. I’d been left at the mouth of the tent; my feet bound as tightly as my wrists. 

The mumbling caught my attention again, and I sought out the source. The noise had come from the bedroom area. There, almost hidden amongst the mountain of silk, plush pillows, lied Alice. She wore a see-through, purple nightie better suited for a woman ten years older, and her hair had been constructed into a series of braids that made her look younger than Sierra. Her hands and feet were free, but she stayed in place as if her range of motion was as restricted as mine. 

No one else occupied the tent. I heard multiple footfalls and equipment move outside the tent, yet it all seemed far away. Could the exterior of the tent block out noise? If it could, what did that mean for Alice and me? 

With that thought, I tried to recall what had gotten me to this point. All I could remember was a road sign and a sharp stab in my neck. Had we been ambushed? Did we reach Sierra’s people and they did this to us? If not, where was Sierra? 

“Alice?” I called but kept my voice low in case someone stood outside. “Alice, do you know what happened?” 

Alice moaned and curled into a ball. “He has me. He has me.” 

“Who?” 

Alice’s words devolved back into nonsense. I sighed and attempted to adjust myself so I could look out the tent’s entrance. The flap was down but not zipped shut. Near the ground was a sliver of space I could look out if only I could reach it. I couldn’t guarantee I’d see anything important, but I had to do something so an escape plan would come to me. 

I scooted toward the entrance as best and as fast as I could. Thick carpet covered most of the ground, which made my progress more difficult. After too many minutes, though, I reached my destination. I didn’t want to flop onto my side, but I didn’t have much choice. 

One last glance over my shoulder at Alice. She hadn’t moved, and her crying had gotten louder. My concern increased tenfold. I’d never seen her this bad off, and her misery fueled my desire to get us out of here as soon as possible. 

As I slumped onto my side, shoes appeared outside the flap. I couldn’t move out of the way in time, and, as the person entered the tent, a heavy work boot connected with my cheek and propelled me back five feet. Pain exploded on that side of my face, and I yelped. The newcomer, a man a few years my senior so pale I could see every vein under his skin, laughed, and kicked me in the stomach. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked. 

I couldn’t answer, due to him knocking the air out of me, but he didn’t wait for my answer. He brushed back his long black hair from his forehead, stepped over me, and practically skipped to Alice. She watched him approach, her eyes so wide they looked ready to pop out of her skull. Her tears hadn’t stopped but she no longer sobbed. 

The man crouched down and cupped Alice’s cheek. She let loose a pathetic whine. “Oh, is that the sort of greeting I deserve?”

She whimpered again. 

A dark look crossed the man’s strong features. Without warning, he backhanded Alice. She howled. 

“L-leave her alone!” I yelled the best I could with my gut still in pain. 

The man ignored me. He grabbed Alice by the arm and shook her tiny form. “You honestly thought you could escape me?” 

She babbled much like she had when I’d woken up. He snorted and struck her in the back of the skull. Alice gasped and silenced for a moment. Before she could recover, the man pulled her so close their lips nearly touched. 

“I told you, you’re mine ‘til your last breath.” 

“Put her down!” 

The man shoved Alice away, and she fell back on the pillows. He looked down at me with his intense eyes, which had a red shine in the light of the oil lamps. I never thought a human would ever resemble a demon, but this man did. At once, I could tell he lacked the depth of emotion of the average person. I wouldn’t doubt he’d tortured animals as a child. Maybe he’d been a serial killer before the apocalypse. 

The vile words I’d planned to hurl at him died on my tongue. This was not a man to provoke. 

“Who is this?” he asked Alice. “Your new beau? Ah, but he’s just a boy.”

I tried to think of a way to get Alice and me away from this maniac, but his terrifying eyes made me draw a blank. Even if I did come up with the perfect idea, how could I execute it? My range of mobility was nonexistent compared to his. If I attempted to act, all I’d do is piss him off. I didn’t worry about my safety, but I couldn’t bear it if my actions got Alice severely hurt. 

What was I going to do?

The man smirked, a gesture as unsettling as his eyes. “Do you like my Alice, boy? Have you—” 

“Fire!” 

The shout came from outside the tent. Moments later, several more cries followed. The man grunted and raced for the tent’s opening. 

As he left, he glanced over his shoulder at Alice and me. “Wait here, kids. I’ll just be a second.”


	8. Chapter Eight

If I still believed in a benevolent God, I’d have thanked him for this stroke of good luck. But I wasn’t a child anymore, and God had been more than willing to display how big of an asshole He was. Instead of offering unwarranted praise, I sat up and inched my way toward Alice. 

“You have to help me,” I told her, my voice still breathy from the man’s attack. “I can’t get us out of here if I stay tied up.” 

Alice shook her head; her gaze unfocused and a million miles away. Her face had started to bruise in the shape of the man’s fingers. “He’ll always find me. I’m his, for now, and always.” 

“He doesn’t own you.” 

The growl of my words broke through Alice’s gaze, and she finally acknowledged me. “I’m scared, Alec. He’s a bad, bad man.”

“I know, but if you untie me, I swear I won’t let him harm you further.”

Alice wiped at her tears. “It doesn’t matter. Now that we’re here, we’re never going to leave.” 

I sighed and turned away from her. She was too far gone, and I couldn’t waste any more time trying to get her aid. I looked around the tent with hope to spot a sharp object in my height range. 

Suddenly, a figure burst into the tent. I braced myself, ready to bite kick or bite the man, but as I registered the small frame and curly hair, my heart soared. 

“’Bout time you showed your face,” I said. 

Sierra smirked as she displayed a pocketknife and approached me. “I have a bad habit of showing up late.” She bent and worked on freeing my wrists. 

“Are you okay?” I asked. 

Sierra nodded. “It’s going to take more than these idiots can dish out to take me down.” Her gaze flickered to Alice. “What about her?” 

Alice had returned to muttering under her breath. She’d pulled her legs to her chest and had wrapped her arms around them. She rocked in place. 

Sierra’s gaze narrowed. “Did someone hit her?” 

“Free me, and I’ll tell you later,” I said. 

Sierra’s lips puckered. “Yeah, fine. We do need to hurry. I don’t think those fires I lit will hold those guys’ attention for long.” 

Two more cuts and the rope fell away from wrists. Sierra made quick work of the rope around my feet, and less than ten minutes after Sierra’s arrival, I could move. I shook my limbs out, then jumped up. I scooped Alice into my arms and gestured to the tent opening. 

“I know where we can get a vehicle,” Sierra said, and I allowed her to take the lead. 

We surged forward but hadn’t gotten far when the man returned. He’d brought two other guys with him. 

“What’s this now?” the man asked. “Trying to take my girl?” 

Without out warning, Sierra launched herself at the guy on the man’s left. She swiped at his bulging neck with her pocketknife. He dodged in time to avoid his main artery getting severed, but she still drew blood. He punched at her and his fist connected with her; made her stumble. 

The second guy leaped to tackle Sierra. She ducked out of his reach and stabbed the guy in his back. He cursed her. She spat in his face and dived out of the tent. The guys chased after her. 

I wanted to get out of the tent without engaging the man but knew that course of action wasn’t in my cards. I set Alice on the ground and silently urged her to crawl away once she saw the chance. Then I squared my shoulders and held up my fists.

Shooting had always been my greatest skill, but I’d learned a lot from Carlisle. He’d been a professional boxer before the demons, and he was a beast when he had to be. I’d seen him beat someone to death after they’d assaulted Esme. 

I wasn’t as good as Carlisle, yet I’d do in a pinch. 

The man chuckled. “You want me to teach you a lesson, boy?” 

As a response, I launched a right hook at his head. The man weaved out of the way in time, but his expression was no longer amused. He dropped into a defensive stance.

I brought my hand back to hit him again just as the right side of the tent collapsed. The man jumped for the entrance while I covered Alice. Several oil lamps fell, burst open, and within seconds the carpet caught on fire. Alice screamed at the sight of the flames and smacked at me, but I managed to hold onto her as I dragged her from the tent. 

Outside, I watched as the rest of the tent fell, and the flames grew higher. I looked to see what had made the tent breakdown but couldn’t see anything in the mid-afternoon light. I hoped it hadn’t been Sierra, and if it had, she’d hadn’t hurt herself. 

I went to pick Alice up and was hit from behind. I dropped to the hard earth and turned just in time for the man to punch me in the mouth. I bit down on my tongue, tasted blood, and I think one of my front teeth loosened. 

My head rang, yet instead of it confusing me, I used it to fuel my anger. Before the man could land a second attack, I kicked at him and caught him in balls. He yelped but didn’t back down like I’d prayed for. I made to kick again, and he hit me in the left kneecap. I squealed but rolled out of the way of his stomping boot. 

“Stupid son of a bitch,” the man weaved as he staggered toward me. “She’s mine.”

A huge, gray figure lumbered away from the tent, headed right for the man. At first, it appeared to be a guy in too large sweatpants, but the supposed fabric jiggled like half-set gelatin and flakes the size of my skull fell off the fabric with every movement. I didn’t want to admit it, but when I looked into the figure’s pointed, hairy face and fiery red eyes, I couldn’t deny it. 

A demon, one of the intelligent ones, inched in my direction. 

The man noticed I didn’t pay him any attention and looked over his shoulder in time for the demon’s inch-thick fingers to impale his eyes. The man let loose an agonized howl and swatted at the creature but couldn’t stop it from drawing him close. Its mouth opened to an impossible size, and it managed to bite off the top of the man’s head. 

I gagged yet didn’t have the time to let repulsion overtake me. I gathered up a stunned Alice and hobbled for the camp the large tent had sat on the outskirts of. The demon had brought friends, who terrorized the other members of the man’s group. No one tried to stop Alice and me as we raced through the disheveled camp. 

I looked for Sierra. I wanted to call for her but didn’t want to risk catching the demons’ ears. Instead, I kept my eye out for a vehicle. 

Luckily, several sat a hundred feet from the camp, and I raced for them. At the first car, I saw a tiny body in the driver’s seat, hunched over the steering wheel. I recognized the clothes and shoved Alice into the back of the car. I slid into the passenger seat. 

“Do you know how to drive?” I asked Sierra. 

She turned the key, and the car roared to life. “No.”

She pressed the gas pedal.


	9. Chapter Nine

Sierra drove like a madwoman. Luckily, she found a nearby road, and nothing obscured our path. She could barely keep the car on the pavement, and I don’t think she could have swerved around anything to save her life. 

I didn’t want to distract her, but Sierra talked. “Two of those demons were the ones that attacked my mom and me.” 

“I thought you said you lost them.” 

“We did, but...” 

My stomach knotted. Oh, not more terrible news. “What?”

“I’ll never truly be able to hide from demons. I have a...scent, I guess, that attracts them. The larger ones have amazing senses and will be able to follow me for miles.” 

“Damn it.” 

Sierra’s knuckles tightened around the steering wheel, and her bottom lip quivered. “I’m sorry. I should have mentioned that before, but I didn’t think you’d still take me if you knew.” 

“I...” 

I didn’t know how to answer. That bit of information sure would have made it harder for me to decide in favor of Sierra. I wanted to think I wouldn’t have turned my back on the kid, yet I wasn’t sure enough to give a convincing reply. 

Instead, I settled for, “At least your secret led to some good. We wouldn’t have gotten out of there without your tagalongs.” 

Sierra nodded but didn’t further the conversation. Instead, she kept her eyes glued to the windshield. She still gripped the steering wheel too tightly. 

In the silence, I examined my various injuries. My lips had swelled to twice their standard size and, sure enough, my teeth were loose, but I’d been fine until I got back to my group and Esme could look me over further. The guy had bruised a couple of my ribs when he’d kicked me with his boot, and it hurt like a bitch when I breathed too sharply. 

All that paled in comparison to my left kneecap. It’d grown to resemble a misshapen grapefruit. It radiated a disturbing heat, and if I tried to readjust my leg for better comfort, a fiery pain shrieked from the injury. Worry gripped me. What had that asshole done to me? Would I ever be able to walk properly again? 

“You know I can heal more than myself,” Sierra said. 

“It’s not that bad.” 

Why I lied to her, I didn’t know. Maybe I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of someone with magical powers touching me. Perhaps I didn’t want to feel like I owed God anything. 

“Alec, please. It’s the least I can do.”

“Just drive, okay? We’ll deal with me when we get you to safety.” 

Sierra eyed me with a look my parents used to wear when I was a kid and let my rambunctiousness get the better of me. I purposely avoided her and stared out the window. After a minute, Sierra sighed. 

A half hour later, we discovered the road was the same one we’d been following before being ambushed and captured. We passed the sign declaring Awfor so close. Sierra and I let out a loud cheer. 

Alice screamed. 

This was the first noise she’d made since we’d left the camp, and Sierra and I both jumped. Sierra glanced in the rearview mirror and frowned. 

“Uh, Alec...” 

I turned to find Alice pounding her fists into her skull. In a flash, despite all my aches and damaged knee, I crawled (with a lot of under-my-breath swearing) from the front passenger seat to the back. I grabbed Alice’s hands. 

“Stop. You’re safe.”

An agonized, frenzied fire burned in Alice’s gaze. I got the sense she couldn’t comprehend where she was or who sat next to her. She had come completely unhinged. 

“No.” Alice struggled against my hold. “No. No!” 

She screamed again, a pitch so high my ears rang. Then, with surprising force, Alice yanked her hands from mine and shoved me into the opposite car door. She kicked and punched Sierra’s seat. 

“Stop,” Sierra cried, and the car swerved. “I can’t focus. Alice!” 

“Pull over,” I demanded. 

“But—” 

“Pull over now!”

Sierra complied. 

As soon as the car ceased moving, Alice’s assault on Sierra’s seat ended. In a flash, she had her door open and sprinted from the vehicle. I tried to follow her but wasn’t fast enough.

Luckily, Sierra snapped to quick action. She moved like a fired bullet and managed to catch up to Alice before she got too far. Alice fought her, but Sierra refused to let her go.   
When she realized she wouldn’t get her way, Alice fell against the younger girl and bawled. Sierra wrapped her in a tight hug. 

I hobbled from the car to the pair. The pain in my knee had reached a level that made it difficult to concentrate on anything other than it, but I focused on Alice. She needed me. Though I looked like hell, she’d suffered far worse. 

I thought she’d freak out again when I reached for her, but, instead, Alice flung herself into my arms. She squeezed my chest, and my ribs complained, yet I didn’t care. I stroked her hair much like Esme would do when Alice had a hard time falling asleep. She continued to cry. 

As I comforted Alice, Sierra walked around the area. I wondered what she searched for and had more questions when she found a half-inch thick branch. She took three practice swings, then made like she was stabbing someone. Sierra nodded, took out a switchblade she’d had hidden in a pocket in her waistband, and sat down on the ground. She took to sharpening one end of the branch into a point. 

All came clear to me, and I mentally applauded the girl. While it wouldn’t be the best weapon, it’d be nice to have something. I hoped she’d do one for me, too.

The early afternoon passed, and with the lowering sun came a brisk wind that made my arm hair stand on end. Alice shook, and I tried to shield her from the worst of the wind. I went to take off my shirt to give to her, so she’d have more weather protection than what the inappropriate nightgown offered, but Alice stopped me.

“I’ll be fine,” I assured her. 

Alice shook her head. She flicked away her tears. “No, I can endure.” 

“But you shouldn’t have to. Especially not after...” 

I didn’t know how to continue. I feared to mention anything specific. I didn’t want to upset Alice further. 

“He didn’t hurt me too badly this time.” 

My blood boiled at her words. Though the bastard had suffered a cruel end, it wasn’t enough. A thousand horrible deaths wouldn’t even scratch the surface of the level of punishment he deserved for what he’d put Alice through. 

“Alice—” 

“Is he really dead, Alec?” 

“Yeah, that demon got him.” 

A strange expression contorted Alice’s face. She seemed equal parts relieved, upset, and horrified. “I’m...I’m free?” 

I squeezed her left hand. “Yes.” 

Alice sobbed and rested her forehead against my shoulder. “Oh, Alec.” She cried again, but not as bad as before. 

This time I rubbed her back as she worked through her complicated emotions. 

“Alec!” Sierra yelled a long moment later. 

I found Sierra and felt the blood drain from my face. This couldn’t be happening. Couldn’t God let us have a moment to breathe? 

Sierra fought the demon who’d killed Alice’s tormentor. She used her new, crude spear, and held her own, but wouldn’t be able to continue for long. The run-in with the men at the camp had left all of us extremely weakened. 

Alice gripped my shirt. “Alec...” 

I pointed at the car. “Go there and stay.” 

“But—” 

“Go!” 

Alice ran off. 

I didn’t allow myself a moment’s pause before I went to help Sierra. If I did, my body’s pain would screech too loudly, and I couldn’t be sure I’d ignore it to act. 

As I moved, I searched for a weapon. Pebbles and small sticks littered the ground. I considered the pebbles for a millisecond and almost laughed at the absurd idea. Had my ability to reason been injured as well? 

I resigned myself to the fact this fight would have to be done with only my fist and jumped at the demon. At the same time, Sierra stabbed at the creature’s head. The demon swiped at me, and knocked me back, but couldn’t avoid Sierra’s blow. 

A thick, green-yellow liquid spilled from the wound and the demon roared. It yanked Sierra’s spear from her hands. I chose then to launch a second attack. The demon reacted with blinding speed, and before I could process its movements, the demon embedded the spear into my abdomen. 

I was too stunned at first to register anything other than disbelief. Then fire-tipped agony blossomed from the injury, and I collapsed to my knees. My destroyed kneecap gave its loudest protest, and my vision tunneled. 

I fought my body’s demands to blackout. Sierra and Alice needed me. I couldn’t let the demon get them. I wouldn’t have them die like Jane had. 

No longer a threat, the demon left me alone and focused on Sierra. She danced around the creature, just avoiding its attempts to grab her. When she could, she punched and kicked it. Her resistance pissed the demon off, but it seemed to know she wouldn’t be able to keep up her pace. Already, Sierra’s attacks were less frequent, and she was having a harder time staying out of the creature’s reach. 

I tried to think of a way to save Alice and Sierra, but I couldn’t focus. A scream built in my chest. I was failing again. The girls would die, and it’d be all my fault. I was worthless. I—  
The roar of an engine pulled me from my thoughts. 

Through my hazy vision, I saw the car whip by me; Alice in the driver’s seat. The car raced toward Sierra and the demon. At the last moment, Sierra dived out of Alice’s path. The demon realized too late what was happening and couldn’t avoid getting hit. 

The demon slid under the car and managed to get its head caught under the front-right wheel. Without hesitation, Alice crushed its skull. 

With the threat gone, what little strength I had left my body, and I crumpled to the ground. My sight entirely left me, but I wasn’t upset. I could die happily knowing the girls would be okay if they got to Awfor as soon as possible. I knew Sierra would get them there. 

I sighed. “See you soon, Jane.”


	10. Chapter Ten

“Wake up,” an unfamiliar voice said and pulled me from black nothingness. 

My eyes opened as I jerked into an upright position on the narrow cot I’d been sleeping on. I thrashed about, my fists half-formed. 

“Calm down. Everything’s okay,” that same voice said again, now much farther away. 

I sought its source and met the amused blue gaze of a man the size of a bear. He stood on the other side of small, hospital-like room we were in. His cheeks dimpled when he smiled a moment later. 

“Is this how you thank everyone who’s saved your life?” 

Just then Sierra burst into the room through the open door next to the man. She put her hands on her hips and regarded him. “Oh, you saved him, did you?”

The man’s smile widened. “I carried him from the car, didn’t I?” 

Sierra rolled her eyes. “Yes, you were such a big help. Thank you.” She looked at me. “You’re so lucky Emmett was here, you know.” 

My heart hadn’t slowed down from my initial shock, and I was confused how I’d gotten here, but I realized I must be in Awfor and this man, Emmett, had to be one of the people meant to train Sierra. I relaxed a fraction. 

“Uh, thanks, I guess,” I told Emmett. 

Emmett gave us both a mock frown. “Well, you two suck. I’m going to go if this is all the appreciation I get.” 

Sierra waved at him. “Bye.” 

He chuckled and left the room. 

Sierra’s expression turned more serious as she sat on my cot. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, I just don’t—What happened? I remember being stabbed, and—Alice! Did Alice run a demon over?” 

Sierra nodded. 

“How is she?” 

“Fine. She’ll be down here shortly. She was just finishing breakfast.” 

My stomach rumbled. I glanced down at, and it struck me then that I’d almost died from being impaled. I lifted the plain white cotton shirt I’d been dressed in. My abdomen was fine, not even a scar. 

I rubbed my left kneecap. It’d returned to its regular size, and I’d wager it was healthier than it’d been in years. My teeth weren’t loose anymore. 

“I do pretty good work, don’t I?” 

I took Sierra’s hand. “Thank you.” 

She shrugged. “It was the least I could do.” 

“Are you going to do well here?” 

“I think so. I’m really—” 

“Alec!” 

Sierra and I both turned to watch Alice barrel into the room. The bruise on her face looked terrible, but her skin had more color than I’d seen in days. She wore appropriate clothing, and her genuine grin warmed my heart. 

Alice wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek. “We did it!”

I smiled at her. “All thanks to you.” 

Alice blushed. “Well, I couldn’t—I didn’t want—The demons can’t win.”

Sierra patted Alice’s hand. “I’m going to make sure they don’t.” 

Alice stared at Sierra. “You’ll...I don’t know.”

“That’s sort of the point,” Sierra said. She frowned as she spoke. 

I cleared my throat, and both girls looked at me. “When will we be allowed to leave?” 

Sierra squirmed in her seat. “Any time you’d like.” She spoke to her feet. “You can even take the car. I made sure Emmett filled up the tank.” 

I nodded at Alice. “We should probably do that now.” 

Alice shook her head. “You need to eat.” She stood. “I’ll go get you some stuff.” 

She left the room. 

Sierra still focused on her shoes. “You guys could stay.” 

“We have a group to get back to.” I already figured the answer, but I had to ask anyway (thinking about Bella and her baby), “Could we bring them here?” 

“I, uh, don’t think so. The people here are...suspicious.” 

“Good on them.” 

“I’m...” Sierra sighed and glanced at me. “I’ll miss you and Alice. I really can’t thank you two enough.” 

“I’ll miss you, too.” 

When I’d first met her, I would have never believed I’d utter those words. Sierra had been a stone around my neck, and I’d hated that she’d stumbled across my path. I’d counted the moments until I dropped her off in Awfor. 

Now, I didn’t want to go. Somehow, though I’d only known her for a few days, I felt closer to her than many members of my group. I was concerned for Sierra’s welfare, and a dull ache had formed in my chest while we talked about leaving. 

Suddenly, Sierra launched herself at me and wrapped me in a hug. I embraced her back. Tears prickled my eyes, but I couldn’t cry. I didn’t want to upset her further. 

We held each other until Alice returned, then parted. Alice carried two heavy backpacks and a loaded sandwich in a plastic bag. 

“You’ll have to eat on the road,” Alice told me. “They want us to go.” 

“Okay.” 

I stood, as did Sierra. “Bye.” 

Sierra wiped her wet eyes. “B-bye, guys.” 

Alice waved. 

I spared Sierra one last long look, then Alice and I started our journey back to Forks.


End file.
